The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death
by Katrianna Sly
Summary: Someone who was thought to be dead isn't! This is basically going to be a fluffy love story with a few bumps on the way. Takes place after Deathly Hallows. SPOILERS!
1. After the Battle

JK Rowling is finished with the Harry Potter series, so obviously I cannot take credit for any of the real Harry Potter novels. If I were JKR, then this story wouldn't exist.

This story takes place after Deathly Hallows, thus containing MANY spoilers. DO NOT read if you have not yet read Deathly Hallows.

ALSO! Completely disregard the Epilogue!

Suggestions are always welcome and reviews are much loved. Only takes a second!

Chapter 1: After the Battle

Hermione Granger retreated to Gryffindor Tower after she, Harry, and Ron had visited the Headmaster's office. Harry set off to return the Elder Wand to a safe place while Ron went to be with his family. Hermione needed time to herself, to let everything sink in: Voldemort's downfall, the deaths of Lupin, Tonks, Fred, so many others, even before the battle began. The wizarding world had almost lost The Boy Who Lived himself.

Bits of plaster fell from the ceiling while a cold breeze whistles through cracks in the windows. The Dementors must've sensed the loss of their leader and their disappointment caused the unseasonable chill and mist. Hermione bundled her torn cloak closer, but the chill she felt had nothing to do with the wind. She didn't think she could even cry anymore as she desperately tried to push thoughts of the battle away.

Barely noticed, a house-elf came and lit a fire for the girl with the tear stained cheeks. He covered her with a blanket and pat her on the head affectionately before he left with a crack. After all, this was the girl responsible for trying to make house-elves' lives better.

Hermione shifted her thoughts to Ron and her heart immediately sank lower than it already was. She kissed him. It was bound to happen in the 7 years they had known each other. But now that it had happened, Hermione realized she and Ron were not supposed to be together. At the time it felt right, when at any moment they could've died, but now that they were safe, she could form her thoughts properly. She thought Ron felt the same, since the two avoided each other's eyes since the downfall of the Dark Lord.

The flames crackling in the crumpling fireplace stirred her from her thoughts. She could feel something sticky and warm on her back and all the way down the outside of her left leg. She had noticed no pain until just now when she was forced from her thoughts. Sighing, she stood up, only to stumble and fall back onto the red sofa she had been occupying. She was still losing blood; her cloak must've covered any bloodstains from view.

Standing again, slower this time, she made her way to the portrait hole and climbed out awkwardly. She made her way down seven stories, gripping the railings tightly, and even sitting on a step as a staircase shifted it's position. She made it to the doors of the great hall, her vision getting dark around the edges, when she heard Ginny shriek:

"He's alive! Fred's alive! Mum! Come quick!"

Hermione could even make one more step forward as she passed out in the doorway.

-----

"Bellatrix must've hit her with a slicing curse, before you stepped in Molly," the familiar voice of Poppy Pomfrey drifted into Hermione's thoughts. Was she still dreaming?

Opening her eyes, she saw the ceiling of the great hall; stars were beginning to reappear in the twilight sky. Looking around, she saw Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasley standing around her. Upon seeing her awake, Mrs. Weasley grinned and her eyes started shimmering with tears.

"Oh! Hermione, dear, you're awake! We were so worried about you." She said happily. Madam Pomfrey rushed off to another patient lying close by.

"What happened?" Hermione asked. She felt groggy and strongly medicated. "I came to the Great Hall. Someone shouted that- oh but it must've been a dream."

"What was a dream, dear?" Mrs. Weasley questioned. Hermione remained silent. She didn't want to upset the woman by bringing up that she dreamt her son was alive. "Well?"

"It was- well, Fred. He…" she trailed off, feeling extremely sad and uncomfortable. Mrs. Weasley's smile got even wider and her tears started to fall.

"He is alive, Hermione!" She finished for the girl. With that Hermione bolted upright to look for him. She regretted sitting up immediately as a waved of dizziness washed over her and her head began to ache. Still, she searched the room for Fred, but could not see him. He was surrounded by his rather large family in the cot right next to Hermione's.

Ron noticed she was awake first and came over to her, obviously relieved she was alright. They looked at each other and an unspoken agreement passed between them: they would remain friends.

"You've got some wicked scars on your back and leg," he said. "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?"

"I didn't realized," she answered. "I could only think of Lupin and Tonks and Fred. But Fred, he's-"

"I'm alright, Hermione," Fred interrupted, shifting the Weasely's attention the her. "Thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" she repeated, confused.

"Yeah, you. You and that massive brain of yours."

"Are you finally going to tell us what happened, Fred?" George whined impatiently. He hated not knowing something about his twin.

"Now that Hermione's here to explain what I can't. I overheard her talking about this spell, a rare one. That how she saved me. I was hit with it, before the hallway collapsed over us. I couldn't move, but I could see and think."

"Suspended Animation," Hermione said, understanding what happened. "But how did I save you?"

"I remembered what you said, after panicking, of course. I thought I was dead, but stuck in my body. But when I remembered you talking about it, I knew I had to stop trying to get out."

"Because the longer you try to escape, the less likely it is the spell will be lifted. It can only wear away when the victim accepts being trapped. So, if you knew what you had to do, why did it take so long for the spell to wear off?" Hermione asked. The rest of the Weasley took in the conversation, completely ignored by Fred and Hermione.

"Every time I got feeling back in my fingers and toes, I guess I wiggled them too excitedly. I would just end up freezing again. So I let my mind shut down and went to sleep. When I woke up, everyone was crying. They thought it was an awful joke when I jumped up and shouted 'Surprise!'" The Weasley's chuckled at the thought now, but Hermione could only imagine how shocked they must have been at the time. Mrs. Weasley probably became hysterical.

A million questions were racing through Hermione's head. Not many people reversed the Suspended Animation spell. Now wasn't the time to bother Fred though, and for once, Hermione didn't even want to learn.

Harry returned to the Hall when all the stars were glittering in the sky. He needed time alone, but was very, very angry with the Weasley's for not telling him sooner about Fred. George retold the story for Harry's benefit, making sound like it was all a great joke. Mrs. Weasley was not amused, but at the same time she couldn't help smiling.

-----

The fighters who did not survive the Battle of Hogwarts were buried on school grounds in a remote spot near the edge of the forest. Hedges blocked in the small cemetery; Neville and Professor Sprout landscaped the area beautifully with flowers and blooming bushes. In the days that followed the battle, visitors from all over Europe visited the sight to pay their respects to those who died to make the world safer.

Harry had to stay at Hogwarts while people were still coming. Many traveled a great distance to see the Boy Who Lived-And Almost Died-But Lived To Kill Voldemort. Many of the wounded, including Fred and Hermione, had to stay to make sure they were healed. Ron stayed to complete the Trio. People wanted to meet Harry's two best friends as much as Harry himself. Professor McGonagall stayed to oversee the reconstruction of Hogwarts.

The Weasley's returned to the Burrow and most everyone else left as well. They had to begin their lives without fear of death, without fearing for their families, and without fearing saying 'Voldemort.'

--TBC--

This chapter is just basically a prologue to my story and also how I would end DH. More to come

Reminder: Reviews are loved!


	2. Runaway

Reminder:

- I still don't own Harry Potter, but if I did, I'd be pretty cool, now wouldn't I?

- There are Deathly Hallows spoilers.

- Disregard the Epilogue

- Suggestions are always welcome and reviews are much loved. Only takes a second!

-----

Thanks for your reviews of chapter 1. I'm glad I could entertain you!

Chapter 2: Runaway

Two weeks went by and in that time survivors were healing physically and emotionally. Hogwarts was on its way to being completely restored, window-by-window, stone by stone. It would be ready to reopen on time at the end of summer.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon returned to the Burrow. Fred went back to the joke shop, after visiting his mum first. But without having a mission, Harry and Ron soon became bored. They left the Burrow after a few days to go fix up Grimmauld Place. Hermione had no desire to be working on an old house. She'd already spent too much time cleaning it. Plus she had to visit her parents.

After the fall of Voldemort, Kingsley Shacklebolt arranged for the Ministry to find the Granger's after hearing what Hermione had done to protect them. Their memories were restored and Hermione was able to be with them again. She once thought she would never be able to once she sent them off.

She was honest with her parents about all of the events of the year away from them, and while they were angry with her for modifying their memories, they were beyond proud of how clever and brave their daughter was. After spending a couple of weeks with them, she soon began to miss her friends and the wizarding world. It was hard for her to fit back in as a Muggle after all that happened. She was relieved from her boredom one afternoon when she received a letter from a handsome grey owl.

_Dear Hermione,_

_We are going to be hosting a party to celebrate the downfall of Tom Riddle. Tonight at 7 at the joke shop. You'll be able to stay here overnight should you wish to. Hope to see you soon._

_Much love,_

_Gred and Forge_

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the letter. Even though she knew the party was bound to be trouble, she needed to see everyone again. She had a bag packed with a flick of her wand and she ran downstairs to tell her parents.

"Mum, Daddy, I'm going to go to a little party this evening," she said to her parents, currently sitting in the living room watching the news.

"Oh, that'll be nice, Hermione," her mom said. "Don't be too late."

"Well actually, I was going to stay with my friends for awhile," she responded, shifting nervously under their gazes.

"Hermione, you can't leave us again," her mom argued.

"Mum, I'm of legal age now, and I belong in the wizarding world," she retorted. "I'll be back on visits, I promise."

Hermione," her dad finally said something, "You may be a witch, but you're our daughter and I'm not so sure I want you to be part of a world that encourages its youth to cast spells and manipulate their parents."

Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears at this point. "I thought I told you I was trying to protect you."

"Our job is to protect you," he said angrily, his voice rising. "And right now young lady, I'm protecting you from _those_ people."

"_Those_ people? _Those people_? I am one of _those_ people, Dad, whether you like it or not," Hermione shouted back, refusing to let her tears spill. She turned her back on her parents and made her way back to her bedroom.

"Hermione, where do you think you're going?" her mother yelled after her, following her upstairs. Her parents made it to her bedroom to see all of her belongings flying into her trunk.

Calmly, Hermione looked at her parents, her anger replaced by sadness as she replied, "I'm going to be with _my _people." And with that, she left her room with a loud crack, untraceable to her parents.

-----

Hermione reappeared in Diagon Alley, the tears that had been threatening beginning to spill over. Happy, carefree people once again crowded all of the shops, and the crying witch running along with her trunk clumsily pulled behind her was an odd sight. She reached the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, only to find it closed.

Frantically she began banging on the door, only to here a voice somewhere inside shout "Oi! We're closed!" But Hermione didn't relent on her knocking. Finally, George appeared at the door, clutching a telescope angrily at being interrupted, but dropped it immediately seeing Hermione there in the state she was in. Fred appeared a second later and the twins ushered the girl into the shop, George grabbing her trunk as they went.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" Fred asked. But all he got were a few words through he hiccupping. He caught "parents… Australia… trying to help… _those_ people… left home…." Fred took over the trunk, floating it upstairs to their flat, with Hermione close behind. George ran off for a bottle of firewhiskey, thinking tea would not be enough to calm the hysterical girl.

Hermione looked an absolute mess as she flopped onto the couch and more tears fell down her face. Her bushy hair was defying gravity and sticking up at odd angles.

Fred had no idea how to console the crying girl, so he did what he did best: from his pocket, Fred pulled out a handful of candies and popped all of them in his mouth at the same time. Instantly, his bright red hair turned into feathers a sickly shade of green, his nose elongated into an elephant trunk and a monkey tail sprouted from his bum. He then conjured a bouquet of innocent looking flowers and offered them to her. She eyed them suspiciously, but couldn't help but give him a watery smile as she accepted the bouquet, which turned out to be completely harmless.

Mission accomplished, Fred was able to return his appearance to normal and smooth Hermione's hair in a comforting gesture. George reappeared and he handed her a glass of firewhiskey, which she accepted and took a small sip. She was able to tell them what happened with her parents without breaking down completely.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on you guys, but I got your letter and this was the first place I thought of to come, since I was coming anyways," she rambled, embarrassed that she broke down in front of them.

"Don't even worry about it, Hermione," George responded.

"Yeah, you know you're always welcome here or the Burrow," Fred continued.

"And Harry's got Grimmauld Place now, too. Not that it's exactly livable at the moment, but they're working on it."

"Thanks guys," Hermione said, feeling better knowing that she had so many people who cared for her. "Do you mind if I clean up a bit for the party?"

"Bathroom's down the hall," Fred said, pointing in the direction. She thanked them and pulled her trunk after her through the hallway.

-----

After taking a shower, Hermione felt much better. Her parents would come around eventually and now was a time to be happy. She didn't have to live in fear anymore and she intended to live her life to the fullest now that she wasn't in danger of dying at any moment.

Hair wrapped in a towel to dry, Hermione sorted through her trunk for an outfit. She chose a strapless black shirt that clung to her figure nicely, a jeans skirt that came to about mid-thigh, and a pair of ballet-style shoes that were pink with a black lace pattern over it. She looked over her tiny frame as she finished drying her hair with her wand. It fell in semi-tame waves down to the middle of her back. She finished her look with a small amount of make-up just to accent her features.

When she reappeared, the twins were nowhere in sight, but she heard voices and music coming from down in the shop. Looking at the clock, she saw it was a quarter after seven. Walking down the steps, she noticed a rather large crowd in the shop. Apparently everyone wanted to get the party started as soon as possible. It seemed all of the Wizard Wheezes were in the backroom and the shop itself was converted into a club-like atmosphere. Most of it became a dance floor, but there were several grouping of chairs and couches along the edges of the room.

Hermione saw the Weasley kids and Harry in the crowd, along with various people from Hogwarts, some she didn't recognize. Harry and Ron looked up and saw her first and looked happy to see her again. The three of them belonged together and even though she had only been gone a few weeks, she knew this is where she was supposed to be. She joined their group and got hugs from them and Ginny.

Ginny decided to pull Harry off to dance, which he did not complain about one bit. They weren't officially back together, but it was only a matter of time. Ron handed Hermione a drink and pulled her to join Harry and Ginny on the dance floor. The four of them danced for a while, becoming wilder with each drink they had.

Hermione felt someone grab her from behind and was spun to come face-to-face with George.

"Feeling better?" he asked, twirling her around.

"Much better," she replied laughing as Fred stole her away.

"George and I were doing some thinking-"

"-And since you won't be able to stay with your parents-"

"-We thought we'd offer you a job here-"

"-And a place to stay until you get sorted out."

Hermione was just trying to understand how they finished each other's sentences when she realized what they were offering her.

Smiling, she replied, "Thanks guys, but you don't have to-"

"Yes we do," they both said cutting her off.

"Besides," Fred continued, "you're brilliant. You're bound to think up some wonderful product for us."

"Well I'm not much of a prankster, in case you didn't notice, but I guess I can't really refuse you, can I?"

"Nope," the both said. Fred spun her back to Ron and the twins went off to entertain other guests. He, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all decided to go sit down and take a break from dancing. They were all more than just a little drunk and it led them to believe a game of truth or dare was a good idea. More people joined the group when they heard what was going on.

"Harry," Ron slurred, "Truth or dare, mate?"

"Truth."

"Are you kidding?" Seamus interrupted. "You defeated the darkest wizard of all time, but you pick truth?" Harry just shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Alright, truth then. When are you gonna get back with my sister?"

"I-I don't know…" he answered. Ginny didn't look too happy about his answer.

"That's not an answer!" Ron shouted, getting a bit belligerent.

"It's the truth," Harry retorted. "Um… Seamus, Truth or dare?" He wanted to get the attention off of himself quickly.

"Dare," he said, trying to be more badass than the Boy-Who-Chose-Truth.

"Go snog Lavender," Harry said effectively making everyone watch the two go at it drawing a bunch of ooh's and aah's from the crowd. When he came up for air, he looked for his victim.

"Alright, George, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Glancing around, Seamus noticed Ron was completely passed out in his chair. With an evil smirk, he conjured a permanent marker and some duct tape and handed them to George.

Five minutes later, Ron was taped into his chair and had a drawn-on goatee, mustache, and unibrow.

"Hermione, truth or dare?" George asked.

"Truth."

"How far have you gone with a guy?" Hermione blushed and muttered something about Victor Krum and having to stop him from groping too much. She quickly recovered herself and asked, "Ginny, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Hermione thought she'd help Ginny make Harry jealous.

"How about you kiss…" she started, looking around the room at the males present. Harry looked very hopeful. "Oliver Wood."

"But he's not even playing!" Harry objected.

"Well if you had gotten back together with her before now, it would be you she'd kiss, now wouldn't it?" Hermione retorted. Ginny just got up, walked across the dance floor to Oliver, and without saying anything, planted a kiss on his lips before walking away. He stared after her, confused. Harry looked livid.

The game went on a while longer, but ended when too many people, like Ron, had passed out. Harry had pulled Ginny into the backroom, to "talk." They'd been "talking" for at least an hour before returning, both with messy hair and extra-wrinkly clothes. Hermione was sleeping on a chair, her legs hanging over the armrest when Fred came over and woke her up.

"What d'ya want?" she asked tiredly.

"You can go sleep in the extra room upstairs if you want, since you'll be staying here anyway," he whispered, helping her up. She stumbled quite a bit on her way upstairs and Fred had to keep his arm around her waist to keep her steady. He led her to her room and the instant she fell on the bed, she was asleep again. Fred removed her shoes and pulled the sheets over her. Impulsively, he kissed her forehead, before leaving her to sleep.

--TBC--

Reviews are loved!


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